Books like 'Bait'
Readers who enjoyed Bait by Alex Sanchez also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary romance psychological lgbtq realistic mlm coming-of-age high-school friendship male-mc
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Love Me Whole by Nicky James
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsTwenty-eight-year-old Oryn Patterson isn’t like other people. Being an extremely shy, social introvert is only part of the problem. Oryn has dissociative identity disorder. He may look like a normal man on the outside, but spend five minutes with him, and his daily struggles begin to show. Oryn shares his life and headspace with five distinctively different alters... -
Carry the Ocean by Heidi Cullinan
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsNormal is just a setting on the dryer.High school graduate Jeremey Samson is looking forward to burying his head under the covers and sleeping until it’s time to leave for college. Then a tornado named Emmet Washington enters his life. The double major in math and computer science is handsome, forward, wicked smart, interested in dating Jeremey—and he’s autistic... -
Glass by Ellen Hopkins
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsCrank. Glass. Ice. Crystal. Whatever you call it, it's all the same: a monster. And once it's got hold of you, this monster will never let you go. Kristina thinks she can control it. Now with a baby to care for, she's determined to be the one deciding when and how much, the one calling the shots. But the monster is too strong, and before she knows it, Kristina is back in its grips... -
Impulse by Ellen Hopkins
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsSometimes you don't wake up. But if you happen to, you know things will never be the same.Three lives, three different paths to the same destination: Aspen Springs, a psychiatric hospital for those who have attempted the ultimate act—suicide.Vanessa is beautiful and smart, but her secrets keep her answering the call of the blade... -
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More Than We Can Tell by Brigid Kemmerer
Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsRev Fletcher is battling the demons of his past. But with loving adoptive parents by his side, he’s managed to keep them at bay...until he gets a letter from his abusive father and the trauma of his childhood comes hurtling back.Emma Blue spends her time perfecting the computer game she built from scratch, rather than facing her parents’ crumbling marriage... -
Perfect by Ellen Hopkins
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsEveryone has something, someone, somewhere else that they'd rather be. For four high-school seniors, their goals of perfection are just as different as the paths they take to get there.Cara's parents' unrealistic expectations have already sent her twin brother Conner spiraling toward suicide. For her, perfect means rejecting their ideals to take a chance on a new kind of love... -
Tricks by Ellen Hopkins
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsFive teenagers from different parts of the country. Three girls. Two guys. Four straight. One gay. Some rich. Some poor. Some from great families. Some with no one at all. All living their lives as best they can, but all searching ... for freedom, safety, community, family, love... -
Burned by Ellen Hopkins
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsI do know things really began to spin out of control after my first sex dream.It all started with a dream. Nothing exceptional, just a typical fantasy about a boy, the kind of dream that most teen girls experience. But Pattyn Von Stratten is not like most teen girls... -
No Place too Far by Kay Bratt
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsMaggie Dalton was forced to uproot her entire life to protect herself and her son. Just when she thinks she’s outrun her past, she’ll have to face her fears in this emotional and suspenseful novel by the bestselling author of Wish Me Home.After a year on the move, single mom Maggie Dalton has found a safe haven with her son in Maui... -
Smoke by Ellen Hopkins
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsPattyn’s father is dead. Now she’s on the run in this riveting companion to New York Times bestseller Burned, which Kirkus Reviews calls “a strong, painful, and tender piece about wresting hope from the depths of despair.”Pattyn Von Stratten’s father is dead, and Pattyn is on the run... -
The Words We Keep by Erin Stewart
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIt's been three months since The Night on the Bathroom Floor--when Lily found her older sister Alice hurting herself. Ever since then, Lily has been desperately trying to keep things together, for herself and for her family. But now Alice is coming home from her treatment program and it is becoming harder for Lily to ignore all of the feelings she's been trying to outrun... -
The Beachside Inn by Fiona Baker
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsEscape to Marigold Island, a charming New England town with a cast of characters who will come to feel like old friends!Lydia Walker and Angela Collins both need a fresh start.A year ago, Lydia became a widow at thirty-eight when she lost her beloved husband to cancer, and despite the support of her friends and her teenage daughter, Holly, she’s had a hard time moving on from the loss... -
After Ever After by Jordan Sonnenblick, Nick Podehl
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsEven though the cancer should be far behind him, Jeffrey still worries that it will return. He's got normal teen stuff to deal with, too - friends, parents, girls, school.Normally, he'd ask his older brother, Steven, for advice. But Steven, always the trusty, responsible one, is finally rebelling and has taken off to Africa to join a drumming circle and 'find himself.'Jeffrey feels abandoned... -
Finding Me by Judith Keim
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsSheena Sullivan Morelli and her sisters, Darcy and Regan, receive the unexpected news that their Uncle Gavin Sullivan, the black sheep of the family, has left them a hotel on the Gulf coast of Florida. The gift comes with a twist. They must live together for one year at the hotel and prepare the hotel to receive guests within a year... -
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The Way I Used to Be by Amber Smith
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsIn the tradition of Speak, this extraordinary debut novel shares the unforgettable story of a young woman as she struggles to find strength in the aftermath of an assault.Eden was always good at being good. Starting high school didn’t change who she was. But the night her brother’s best friend rapes her, Eden’s world capsizes.What was once simple, is now complex... -
The Only Alien on the Planet by Kristen D. Randle
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsNew town, new school, new friends. It was difficult for Ginny at first, but her senior year is finally starting to feel kind of normal. That is, until she sees him—the beautiful mystery in her English class. He has never spoken a word to anyone. He moves through each day at school without making eye contact. His name is Smitty Tibbs, but everyone calls him the Alien... -
In Her Father's Shadow by Quinn Avery
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsSienna Rivers’s aspirations for a normal childhood came crashing down the night they discovered her father was a serial killer. Once her mother’s illusion of a perfect family is destroyed, Sienna is sent to live with the only other “family” she knows... -
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Suicide Watch by Kelley York
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratings18-year-old Vincent has spent his entire life being shuffled from one foster home to the next. His grades sucked. Making friends? Out of the question thanks to his nervous breakdowns and unpredictable moods. Still, Vince thought when Maggie Atkins took him in, he might've finally found a place to get his life--and his issues--in order.When Maggie dies, it all falls apart... -
The Weight of Zero by Karen Fortunati
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsSeventeen-year-old Catherine Pulaski knows Zero is coming for her. Zero, the devastating depression born of Catherine’s bipolar disorder, almost triumphed once; that was her first suicide attempt.Being bipolar is forever. It never goes away. The med du jour might work right now, but Zero will be back for her. It’s only a matter of time... -
How to Disappear by Sharon Huss Roat
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsVicky Decker has perfected the art of hiding in plain sight, quietly navigating the halls of her high school undetected except by her best (and only) friend, Jenna. But when Jenna moves away, Vicky’s isolation becomes unbearable.So she decides to invent a social life by Photoshopping herself into other people’s pictures, posting them on Instagram under the screen name Vicurious... -
It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 43 ratingsLike many ambitious New York City teenagers, Craig Gilner sees entry into Manhattan's Executive Pre-Professional High School as the ticket to his future. Determined to succeed at life--which means getting into the right high school to get into the right college to get the right job--Craig studies night and day to ace the entrance exam, and does. That's when things start to get crazy... -
At the Edge of the Universe by Shaun David Hutchinson
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFrom the author of We Are the Ants comes “another winner” (Booklist, starred review) about a boy who believes the universe is slowly shrinking as the things he remembers are being erased from others’ memories.Tommy and Ozzie have been best friends since the second grade, and boyfriends since eighth. They spent countless days dreaming of escaping their small town—and then Tommy vanished... -
Crank by Ellen Hopkins
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsIn Crank, Ellen Hopkins chronicles the turbulent and often disturbing relationship between Kristina, a character based on her own daughter, and the "monster," the highly addictive drug crystal meth, or "crank." Kristina is introduced to the drug while visiting her largely absent and ne'er-do-well father... -
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All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 49 ratingsThe Fault in Our Stars meets Eleanor and Park in this exhilarating and heart-wrenching love story about a girl who learns to live from a boy who intends to die.Soon to be a major motion picture starring Elle Fanning! Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him... -
The Struggle Within by Tyler May, Jay Aheer
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThrough Ryan’s trials, there are three different perspectives: a best friend watching from the outside, a lover desperate to get in, and his own mind. His struggles were theirs. He just didn’t know it. A tragic accident changed Dr... -
Promise by Rachel Haimowitz, Heidi Belleau
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIn the exciting final season of the Flesh Cartel . . .With the help of the FBI, Mat Carmichael has let himself be re-taken by the Flesh Cartel. Objective? Rescue his brother, exact revenge, and destroy the entire organization from the inside... -
His Uptown Girl by Liz Talley
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsLife doesn't follow rules... Jazz pianist Dez Batiste knows this all too well. It's taken him years to return to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina swept away what mattered most. His musician's soul is still lost in the wreckage, but he's after a brand-new future by opening an Uptown jazz club. Too bad the distractingly sexy Eleanor Theriot is getting in his way... -
Curves Ahead by Andi Jaxon
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsEveryone knows appearances can be deceiving, and in my case, even I’ve been fooled. The last thing I need is immature man-child, Alexander Bennet, trying to smile his way into my pants. I hate everything about him; his stupid smirk, his rumbling chuckle, and the way butterflies riot in my stomach when he aims them at me... -
Stronger Than You Know by Jolene Perry
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAfter police intervention, fifteen-year-old Joy has finally escaped the trailer where she once lived with her mother and survived years of confinement and abuse. Now living with her aunt, uncle, and cousins in a comfortable house, she’s sure she’ll never belong. Wracked by panic attacks, afraid to talk to anyone at her new school, Joy’s got a whole list of reasons why she’s crazy... -
Mistrust by Margaret McHeyzer
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING YA NOVEL I'm the popular girl at school.The one everyone wants to be friends with.I have the best boyfriend in the world, who's on the basketball team.My parents adore me, and I absolutely love them. My sister and I have a great relationship too.I'm a cheerleader, I have a high GPA and I'm liked even by the teachers... -
Ugly by Margaret McHeyzer
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratings*To watch the trailer, click on my author name above. If I were dead, I wouldn't be able to see.If I were dead, I wouldn't be able to feel.If I were dead, he'd never raise his hand to me again.If I were dead, his words wouldn't cut as deep as they do.If I were dead, I'd be beautiful and I wouldn't be so...ugly.I'm not dead...but I wish I was.*This is a dark YA/NA standalone, full-length novel... -
How It Ends by Laura Wiess
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsFollowing her stunning and critically acclaimed novels Such a Pretty Girl and Leftovers, Laura Wiess crafts a riveting and emotionally powerful tale of beauty, destruction...and love.Seventeen-year-old Hanna has been in love with Seth for as long as she can remember, but now that she and Seth are in an actual relationship, love isn’t all it’s cracked up to be... -
All Our Broken Pieces by L.D. Crichton
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratings"You can’t keep two people who are meant to be together apart for long...”Lennon Davis doesn’t believe in much, but she does believe in the security of the number five. If she flicks the bedroom light switch five times, maybe her new L.A. school won’t suck. But that doesn’t feel right, so she flicks the switch again. And again...Categorized as:
realistic family high-school coming-of-age romance contemporary young-adult mental-illness -
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Aaron by J.P. Barnaby
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsI can’t describe what it’s like to want to scream every minute of every day. Two years after a terrifying night of pain destroyed his normal teenage existence, Aaron Downing still clings to the hope that one day, he will be a fully functional human being. But his life remains a constant string of nightmares, flashbacks, and fear... -
Girl Against the Universe by Paula Stokes
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsMaguire is bad luck.No matter how many charms she buys off the internet or good luck rituals she performs each morning, horrible things happen when Maguire is around. Like that time the roller coaster jumped off its tracks. Or the time the house next door caught on fire. Or that time her brother, father, and uncle were all killed in a car crash—and Maguire walked away with barely a scratch... -
Backlash by Sarah Darer Littman
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsHe says: You're an awful person. He says: What makes you think I would ever ask you out? He says: The world would be a better place without you in it. Lara just got told off on Facebook. She thought that Christian liked her, that he was finally going to ask her to his school's homecoming dance... -
Letting Ana Go by Anonymous
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsIn the tradition of Go Ask Alice and Lucy in the Sky, a harrowing account of anorexia and addiction.She was a good girl from a good family, with everything she could want or need. But below the surface, she felt like she could never be good enough. Like she could never live up to the expectations that surrounded her. Like she couldn’t do anything to make a change... -
If There's No Tomorrow by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsLena Wise is always looking forward to tomorrow, especially at the start of her senior year. She's ready to pack in as much friend time as possible, to finish college applications and to maybe let her childhood best friend Sebastian know how she really feels about him. For Lena, the upcoming year is going to be epic—one of opportunities and chances... -
Words on Bathroom Walls by Julia Walton
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsAdam is a pretty regular teen, except he's navigating high school life while living with paranoid schizophrenia. His hallucinations include a cast of characters that range from the good (beautiful Rebecca) to the bad (angry Mob Boss) to the just plain weird (polite naked guy). An experimental drug promises to help him hide his illness from the world... -
The Last Time We Say Goodbye by Cynthia Hand
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsThere's death all around us.We just don't pay attention.Until we do.The last time Lex was happy, it was before. When she had a family that was whole. A boyfriend she loved. Friends who didn't look at her like she might break down at any moment.Now she's just the girl whose brother killed himself. And it feels like that's all she'll ever be... -
The Things We Do for Love by Kristin Hannah
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsThe youngest of three daughters, Angela DeSaria Malone was always “the princess” of the family, a girl who thought she knew how her life would unfold. High School. College. Marriage. Motherhood. That was how it had gone for her sisters, her cousins, her friends. But it didn’t work out that way for Angie... -
The Rise by Shari King, Shari Low
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWhen we bury our secrets, they always come back to haunt us...Their rise was meteoric.Only a few years before, they had been three friends from Glasgow, just trying to survive tough lives of danger and dysfunction.But on one Hollywood evening in 1993, they were on the world’s biggest stage, accepting their Oscar in front of the watching world.That night was the beginning of their careers... -
A Bend in the Road by Nicholas Sparks
Rated: 4.03 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsMiles Ryan's life seemed to end the day his wife was killed in a hit-and-run accident two years ago. Missy had been his first love, and Miles fervently believes she will be his last. As a deputy in the North Carolina town of New Bern, Miles Ryan not only grieves for Missy, but also longs to bring the unknown driver to justice. Then Miles meets Sarah Andrews... -
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The Last Summer by Ruthie Luhnow
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratings"It's not even really a first kiss if you're practicing on a friend." Trapped in a conservative prairie town, Alfie Alder has spent his whole life enduring bullying from his classmates and indifference from his teachers. Only one person has ever seen past Alfie's sarcastic, standoffish exterior—his best friend and the love of his life, Wynn... -
Violence Begets ... by P.T. Denys
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsAfter a tragic accident devastates his family, 16-year-old Rick St. James starts his junior year of high school without any friends in a suburb of Salt Lake City, Utah. When he meets Kevin Vincent, he’s too distracted by the promise of new friends to see that Kevin has secrets of his own... -
What I Lost by Alexandra Ballard
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsA searing yet ultimately uplifting young adult novel about a teenage girl's recovery from anorexia.Sixteen-year-old Elizabeth has honed a dangerous skill: starving herself. Even when her parents send her to a treatment center, she can't stop. Then she begins receiving packages from someone she doesn't know... -
Some Boys by Patty Blount
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsSome boys go too far. Some boys will break your heart. But one boy can make you whole.When Grace meets Ian she's afraid. Afraid he'll reject her like the rest of the school, like her own family. After she accuses the town golden boy of rape, everyone turns against Grace. They call her a slut and a liar. But...Ian doesn't. He's funny and kind with secrets of his own... -
Under Rose-Tainted Skies by Louise Gornall
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 22 ratingsNorah has agoraphobia and OCD. When groceries are left on the porch, she can't step out to get them. Struggling to snag the bags with a stick, she meets Luke. He's sweet and funny, and he just caught her fishing for groceries. Because of course he did. Norah can't leave the house, but can she let someone in? As their friendship grows deeper, Norah realizes Luke deserves a normal girl... -
The Pact by Jodi Picoult
Rated: 4.02 of 5 stars · 42 ratingsFor eighteen years the Hartes and the Golds have lived next door to each other, sharing everything from Chinese food to chicken pox to carpool duty—they've grown so close it seems they have always been a part of each other's lives. Parents and children alike have been best friends, so it's no surprise that in high school Chris and Emily's friendship blossoms into something more...
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